Corn-planter.



L. McWATTERS.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.13, 1913. 1,126,647. Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

3 SHEBTFr-SHEET 1.

WWW 3 a.

E N RRIS PETERS 60., PHDTO'LITHOH WASHINGTON D. C.

L. MGWATTERS.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED 00113, 1913.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

we 5 W L. MQWATTERS.

CORN PLANTER;

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.13,1913- 1,126,647. Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

'nE NORRIS PETERS 60., FHOTDYLITHQ. WASHING TON. D,

FFIGE.

LUL'U MCWATTERS, 01E GILMAN, IOWA.

CORN-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

Application filed October 13, 1913. Serial No. 794,763.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LULU MoWVATTnRs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gilman, in the county of Marshall and State of Iowa, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Corn-Planters, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in corn planters and moreparticularly to gearing for operating the corn dropping mechanism.

l-leretofore it has been common to stretch a wire across a field whenplanting corn having means for operating the corn dropping mechanism sothat the corn will be dropped at intervals in forming the hills.

It is the purpose of the present invention to eliminate the use of aguide wire and provide a gearing for corn planters of this characterwith means whereby the corn dropping mechanism may be automaticallyoperated at intervals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cornplanter of the character aforesaid which may be readily thrown into andout of gear at the will of the operator and having comparatively fewparts, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture and at the same timeproducing a strong, durable and efficient machine.

/Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of thenovel features of construction, combination, formation and arrangementof parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a corn planterembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1 in thedirection of the arrows as shown. Fig. 4 is a detail vertical sectionalview on the line M, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail vertical sectional viewof the means for connecting the corn dropping mechanism to the axle ofthe corn planter taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detailsectional view taken on the line 66, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View of the connection between the pitman and the operating shaftof the seed dropping mechanism. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a gearmounted upon the supporting shaft of the corn planter, and Fig. 9 is adetail sectional'view of the clutch mechanism for connecting thesprocket wheel with the drive shaft. Fig. 10 is a view partly intransverse vertical section of the rear end of the tongue and showingthe connection between the tongue and axle.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like andcorresponding parts are designated by similar reference charactersthrough the several views, the numeral 1 indicates the main frame of thecorn planter comprising a pair of parallel side bars having at theirrear ends a transverse connecting bar 2 and the said bars are preferablymade of angle iron as shown. Mount ed in bearings 3 carried by the sidebars of the main frame is an axle 4.- having keyed to the extremitiesthereof, the supporting wheels 5.

Mounted in bearings upon the cross bar 2 is a shaft 6 having securedthereto scraper blades 7 for engaging the peripheries of the wheels 5for cleaning the same in the usual manner. Pivotally mounted upon one ofthe side bars of the main frame 1 is a foot treadle 8 being connected tothe shaft 6 by means of a rod 9 whereby the operator may readily throwthe scraper into and out of contact with the wheels 5. Carried by themain frame is anoperators seat 10 being supported by a pair of diagonalbraces 11 which are connected to the cross bar 2 and a brace 12 which isconnected to the main axle 4 as shown.

A marker 13 is pivotally mounted on the rear bar 2 of the main framewhich is adapted to mark the next adjacent row in which the corn is tobe planted in the usual manner.

The forward extremities of the side bars of the main frame are pivotallyconnected as at 14 to an auxiliary or seed hopper supported frame. Thisauxiliary frame comprises a pair of parallel bars 15 which are connectedby transverse braces 16, all of which are preferably made of angle ironas shown. Brace rods 17 pivotally connect the tongue 18 to the rear bar15 of the auxiliary frame. thereby providing means for bracing theauxiliary frame. A pair of corn hoppers 19 are mounted upon the upperface of the bars 15 of the auxiliary frame and are provided withsuitable corn dropping mechanism which may be of any preferred or wellknown construction and secured to the lower face of the cross bars 15are the usual runners 20 which open the furrows :as is common with cornplanters of this character. To provide means for raising and loweringthe auxiliary frame to throw the runners into and out of engagement withthe ground, I mount upon-the axle or shaft 4 a bracket having pivotallyconnected thereto as at 21, an operating lever 22. A rod 23 is pivotallyconnected at one end to the lever 22 and its opposite end is connectedto the rear cross bar 15 of the auxiliary frame by means of a coilspring 24. The lever '22 is provided with a spring actuated pawl 22 asshown, which is adapted to engage a segmental rack 25 carried by theupper face of the tongue 18 for holding the lever in its adjustedposition. Extending rearwardly from the lever 22 is an angular portion26 having mounted thereupon foot treadles 26 thereby provldmg means forassisting the operation of the'lever 22. It is obvious from theforegoing that upon releasing the pawl 22 carried by lever 22 andpulling rearwar'dly upon the same, the tension of the spring 24 will beincreased and thereby raise the runners 20 out of engagement with theground and when the lever is forced forward, the runners will bepermitted to lower by their own weight and thereby engage the ground inwhich the corn is to be dropped.

A shaft 27 is journa'led in bearings carried by the cross pieces 16 ofthe auxiliary frame and has keyed thereto a pair of cranks 28 which arepivotally connected to operating levers 29 of the corn droppingmechanism by means of links 30. By the oscillation of the arms 29 of thecorn dropping mechanism, the latter will be operated, thereby causingthe corn to drop at predetermined intervals in the furrows formed withinthe ground. The corn dropping mechanism mounted within the hopper 19 isnot shown as it is common in the art and therefore no detailedexplanation is thought necessary.

To provide means for oscillating the shaft 27 so that the arm 29 will beoscillated, I mount upon the corn planter frame, a suitable gearingwhich is connected to the axle or driving shaft 4 as will be hereinafterfully described. This time gearing for oscillating the shaft 27comprises a gear wheel 30 which is loosely mounted upon the drivingshaft 4 and is connected to a sprocket wheel 31 by means of a sprocketchain 32. This sprocket wheel 31 is keyed upon a transversely extendingshaft 33, the latter of which being mounted at one end within a bearing34 carried by one of the side members of the main frame 1 and itsopposite end in a bearing 35 depending from the lower face of the tongue18, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing. This bearing 35is formed from a casting having also made integral therewith a bearshaft33 the gear wheel 38 will also be ro- I tated. Pivotally mounted uponthe tongue 18 and at the rear of the bearings 35 and 36 carried by thetongue is a lever 40. This lever 40 comprises a boxing 41 whichencircles the tongue '18 and has depending therefrom an arm 42. This arm42 is *Connected to one end of a rod 43 and the said rod having its"other end eccentrically connected to the outer face of the gear 38.From this connection it is obvious that upon the rotation of the gear 38the lever 40 will be oscillated. Extending from the upper end of theboxing '41 is an arm 4'4 having pivotally connected thereto a pitman 45.A yoke bracket is carried by the shaft 27 and has mounted upon itstransverse bar adjacent the medial portion thereof, a pair of spacedshoulders 47 between which 'is adapted to rest the forked end of thepitman '45. It will be seen from the foregoing that upon the oscillationof the lever 40, the lated, thereby transmitting an oscillatory movementto the shaft 27.

For connecting the sprocket wheel 30 to the drive shaft 4 I provide asuitable clutch as follows. Keyed upon the shaft 4 is av disk 49 .havingmounted therein a bolt 50. The sprocket wheel 30 is provided with aplurality of recesses 51 formed in one face pitman 45 will also be'oscil- .7

thereof in which is adapted to rest the bolt recesses 51 thereby forminga connection be tween shaft 4 and the sprocket wheel 30 which results inthe operation of the corn dropping mechanism through the gearing asdescribed upon the propulsion of the corn planter over the field. Whenit is desired to stop the operation of the corn dropping mechanism, inthe case of emergency, the operator may lift the pitman 45 and hold thesame out of engagement with the yoke 46 carried by the shaft 27 whichresults in the continuation of the operation of the gearing connected tothe main drive shaft 4 but stops the oscillation of the shaft '27.

Keyed upon the shaft 27 adjacent each end thereof is a lever 53 whichoscillates within a guide 54 carried b the runners 20. The lower ends ofthese levers 53 each carry a marker 55 which makes an indenture withinthe ground adjacent to the place where corn is dropped so that the hillswill be marked upon the field, and the tongue 18 is connected with theaxle by means of the braces 56.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown the simple and preferred formof my invention, it being understood, however, that no limitation isnecessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited,but the right is reserved to make any changes, alterations ormodifications that come within the scope of the invention with outdeparting from the spirit thereof or sacrificing the eiiiciency of thesame.

I claim 2-- 1. In a corn planter, the combination of a main frame, awheeled axle carried thereby, an auxiliary frame connected to the mainframe, corn dropping mechanism carried by the auxiliary frame, a tongueconnected to each of said frames, a lever pivotally mounted upon saidtongue, means operatively con necting one end of said lever to the axle,a pitman pivotallv connected to the opposite end of the said lever andmeans for detachably connecting the opposite ends of said pitman to thecorn dropping mechanism.

2. In a corn planter, the combination of a main frame, a wheeled axlecarried thereby, an auxiliary frame, corn dropping mechanism carried bysaid auxiliary frame, a tongue connected to said frames, a leverpivotally mounted upon said tongue, a gear wheel journaled upon saidtongue, a link connected at one end of said lever and having itsopposite end eccentrically mounted upon said gear wheel, meansoperatively connecting said gear wheel with the axle,

and means for operatively connecting the lever with the corn droppingmechanism.

3. In a planter, the combination of a main frame, of a wheeled axlejournaled therein, an auxiliary frame, corn dropping mechanism carriedby said auxiliary frame, a shaft journaled within said auxiliary frameand operatively connected to said corn dropping mechanism, a yokecarried by said shaft, a tongue connected to said frames, a leverpivotally mounted upon said tongue, a pitman pivotally connected at oneend to said lever, the opposite end of said pitman being forked andadapted to be detachably secured to said yoke, means for operativelyconnecting the opposite end of said lever with the axle, and a clutchinterposed in the last said means.

4:. In a corn planter, the combination of a main frame, a wheeled axlecarried thereby, an auxiliary frame, corn dropping mechanism carried bysaid frame, a tongue connected to said frames, a lever pivotally mountedupon said tongue, a gear wheel journaled upon said tongue, a linkconnected at one end of said lever and having its opposite endeccentrically connected to said gear, means operatively connecting saidgear wheel with the axle and a detachable connection between the leverand the corn dropping mechanism.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specificationin the presence of two witnesses.

LULU MoWATTERS Witnesses:

A. E. WARD,

SOPHIA CHINDLUND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

